the Ka‘bah. The first view is more correct: one-fifth of the war spoils is divided into five shares. One share belonged to the Messenger of Allah during his lifetime; today, it is to be spent on the public welfare of the Muslims and on whatever strengthens Islam. This was the view of al-Shafi‘i, may Allah have mercy on him.

Al-A‘mash narrated from Ibrahim that he said: “Abu Bakr and ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with them, used to allocate the Prophet’s share to mounts and weapons.”

Qatadah said: “It belongs to the caliph after him.” Others said: “The Messenger of Allah’s share is returned to the fifth, and the fifth is for four categories.”

His statement, “and for the near relatives,” means that one share of the fifth is for the Prophet’s near relatives ⦗148/b⦘. They differed concerning who they were. One group said: “All of Quraysh.” Another said: “They are those for whom charity is unlawful.”

Mujahid and ‘Ali ibn al-Husayn said: “They are the Banu Hashim.”

Al-Shafi‘i said: “They are the Banu Hashim and the Banu al-Muttalib. The Banu ‘Abd Shams and the Banu Nawfal have no share in it, even though they are brothers.” The evidence for this is as follows:

‘Abd al-Wahhab ibn Muhammad al-Khatib informed us; ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn Ahmad al-Khallal related to us; Abu al-‘Abbas al-Asamm narrated to us; al-Rabi‘ informed us; al-Shafi‘i informed us; a trustworthy narrator informed us, from Ibn Shihab, from Ibn al-Musayyib, from Jubayr ibn Mut‘im, from his father, who said: “The Messenger of Allah allocated the share for the near relatives between the Banu Hashim and the Banu al-Muttalib, and gave none of it to anyone from the Banu ‘Abd Shams or the Banu Nawfal.” (1)

‘Abd al-Wahhab ibn Muhammad al-Khatib informed us; ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn Ahmad al-Khallal related to us; Abu al-‘Abbas al-Asamm narrated to us; al-Rabi‘ related to us; al-Shafi‘i related to us; Mutarrif ibn Mazin related to us, from Ma‘mar ibn Rashid, from Ibn Shihab, who said: Muhammad ibn Jubayr ibn Mut‘im informed me from his father, who said: “When the Messenger of Allah divided the share for the near relatives between the Banu Hashim and the Banu al-Muttalib, ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan and I came to him and said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, these are our brothers from the Banu Hashim. We do not deny their merit by virtue of your position among them, which Allah has granted you. But what of our brothers from the Banu al-Muttalib? You gave them a share while leaving us aside—or withholding it from us—although our kinship and theirs are one and the same.’ The Messenger of Allah said: ‘The Banu Hashim and the Banu al-Muttalib are but one and the same,’ and he interlaced